Fact Check: Has The Pfizer COVID Vaccine Lost Its Effectiveness?

Has the effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine gone down?

If one were to go by data from Israel’s ministry of health, that is indeed the case.

The Pfizer vaccine was 94.3% effective in protection against coronavirus infection between May 2 and June 5 this year, Xinhua news agency quoted ministry officials as saying.

But it has dropped to 64% during the period between June 6 and July 3, which is a significant drop.

The ministry further said that the decline in efficacy coincided with the spread of Delta variant of the virus in Israel.

The vaccine, however, has been found to be 93% effective in preventing severe COVID-19 and hospitalisations.

Mass vaccination campaign in Israel started on December 20, 2020. About 5.65 million people, or 60.6% of the population, have got the first dose, while 55% have received both doses.